Effect of transcranial direct current stimulation on visual perception function and performance capability of activities of daily living in stroke patients.
Ko-Un Kim, Su-Han Kim, Tae-Gyu An
PMID 27799697WHAT IT FOUND
Adding tDCS to occupational therapy did not show a significant difference between the tDCS and sham groups in stroke patients, though both groups improved on visual perception and ADL scores.
The tDCS group had larger reported mean gains.
Key findings
01Both groups showed statistically significant improvement on the visual perception test: the tDCS group improved from 21.1 to 26.8 points, and the sham group improved from 21.0 to 23.9 points.
02Both groups showed statistically significant improvement on ADL scores: the tDCS group improved from 66.8 to 79.57 points, and the sham group improved from 65.4 to 68.3 points.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
Only 30 patients were studied, and the authors say a larger sample might have made between-group differences significant. The groups were not balanced for stroke cause: the tDCS group had 11 subjects with cerebral hemorrhage and 4 with cerebral infarction, while the sham group had 5 subjects with cerebral hemorrhage and 10 with cerebral infarction. The paper reports no significant between-group difference, so it does not show that tDCS added benefit beyond occupational therapy. The supplied text reports pre-intervention and post-intervention scores only, not longer-term follow-up.
Declared interests
No funding or conflict-of-interest declaration is provided in the supplied text.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that tDCS improves visual perception or daily living more than occupational therapy plus sham stimulation. The study showed improvements in both groups, but the paper states no significant difference between the tDCS and sham groups.